Mission StatementThe mission of St. Andrew’s School is to transform lives by providing quality, progressive education to children from families with limited financial resources through a full scholarship for every child.

MissionThe mission of St. Andrew’s School is to transform lives by providing quality, progressive education to children from families with limited financial resources through a full scholarship for every child.

Impact

Last year St. Andrew's School increased the number of students in our extended day program from 48 to 72, extended the number of days offered in the extended day program from 130 to 171, and implemented the MAP testing to better assess our student achievement.

This year St. Andrew's goals are to move from 171 days of school to 192, to extend the school day by 2 hours for all 96 students, and to add a donor relations officer and a volunteer manager.

Needs

Annual Campaign / Scholarships - SAS runs on the generosity of the greater Richmond community. Each year the school conducts an annual campaign to ensure that every student receives a full scholarship.

Extended Year/Extended Day - Our after-school program was created 5 years ago to provide mind and body enriching opportunities for our students by extending the school day. Our vision is to strengthen our program by transitioning to an 11-month calendar and access to the after-school program for very student.

Wellness and Nutrition Initiative ($190,000) - SAS established a comprehensive wellness and nutrition initiative that includes a signature Nutrition Program, a Recess Coach, regular physical activity, and nutrition classes for parents and students. The school also employs a School Social Work Counselor that supports social emotional development.

SAS Music Program ($60,000) - The program is modeled after “El Sistema.” Using the Violin as the primary instrument, all students (K-5) have weekly group instruction during school hours as well as in-school performances, solos and community performances. SAS’ goal is to implement the program accurately and consider adding additional instruments.

Background

For more than 120 years, our school has educated children of limited financial resources through a balanced academic, social, and spiritual experience. SAS’ whole-student progressive model is tailored to meet the unique emotional, physical and educational needs of children living in poverty; and as we evolve in the 21st century educational environment with the vision of Grace Arents in mind, our primary goal is to disrupt the systemic effects of poverty by providing an innovative educational environment, inclusive of the whole family, where our students can learn and grow. We are doing this in a number of innovative and creative programs, including a special focus on the hunger, nutrition, and wellness needs of our students.

Thirty-five percent of Richmond’s children live in poverty compared to the 13.1% statewide average. The 96 students in grades K through 5 that attend St. Andrew's School (SAS), on full scholarship, live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and 90% qualify for free/reduced lunch. Each student receives a full scholarship. Parents pay an enrollment fee of $125 for the school year. Our students come from throughout the metropolitan region, with the majority living in the City of Richmond. Our students thrive in small classes (approximately 16 students per class), a diverse student body and strong academics, as well as character education that develops self-respect and respect for others.

SAS’ educational model embraces the whole student by offering an individualized classroom education, music, health and wellness, physical activity, a school social work counselor, a rigorous after school program and a nurturing environment. Our model has been designed with intention and reflects a strong commitment to educating our students for their future.

CEO StatementComments from Cyndy Weldon-Lassiter, Head of School - While the students receive full scholarships to attend St. Andrew's School, their families go beyond paying the $125 enrollment fee. Each family, upon their child's enrollment and thereafter, gives volunteer time to the school. The families are vested in their children's education and are active volunteers in the classrooms and around the school. I initiated family visits to spend time with each incoming Kindergartner in his or her home. The visits allowed me to get an understanding of the wide range of areas the families reside, what the children's interests are outside of school, and to begin building a positive and supportive relationship with the families. An invitation to visit the homes of families with children in grades 1-5 was announced to those attending the Back-to-School-Night prior to the opening of school.

Areas of Service

Areas Served

Area

Chesterfield County

Richmond, City

Henrico County

Louisa County

St. Andrew's School serves families of limited financial resources who live in the greater Richmond, Virginia area.

The tables below contain information about other groups that advise this nonprofit on operations and projects.

Executive Director

Executive DirectorDr. Cynthia Annette Weldon-Lassiter

ExperienceCynthia Weldon-Lassiter has gained professional experience in elementary and university settings. She brings two decades of experience as a teacher, researcher, and leader in curriculum and faculty development. She has secured funding to design curriculum that integrated technology, economics, ethics, and service learning opportunities and has published articles related to ethics and economics in Book Links and Econ-Exchange. Her dissertation research focused on literacy of homeless families living in shelters. She co-authored an entry in the four-volume set of Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education, which presents research and statistics, case studies and best practices, policies and programs at pre- and post-secondary levels. She has presented at national conferences and presented at the NAEYC conference in the fall of 2010.

Senior Staff

Name

Title

Mrs. Amanda Kennedy

Chief Advancement Officer

Dr. Kate O'Donnell

Principal

Dr. Cynthia Annette Weldon-Lassiter

Head of School

Staff

Full Time Staff19

Part Time Staff8

Volunteers300

Contractors5

Retention Rate82

Plans

Organization has a Fundraising Plan?Yes

Organization has a Strategic Plan?Yes

Years Strategic Plan Considers5

Date Strategic Plan AdoptedMay 2015

Management Succession Plan?No

Organization Policy and ProceduresUnder Development

Nondiscrimination PolicyYes

Whistleblower PolicyNo

Document Destruction PolicyNo

Directors and Officers Insurance PolicyYes

Collaborations

SAS has several partners that contribute to the success of these programs. These organizations include: Camp Silver Beach, ChildSavers, FeedMore, Full Circle Grief, Girls Rock RVA, James River Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Peter Paul Development Center, YMCA, Fingers & Forks, Lobs & Lessons, Richmond Ballet – Minds in Motion, Sports Backers, and Theater IV. Each organization has a unique relationship with the School and helps us make the school environment more conducive to learning. SAS is in the process of identifying its most crucial partners and will integrate them into a comprehensive assessment process.

DescriptionSt. Andrew's School is an independent, K-5 elementary school and is fully accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools. We serve 96 students, and our classes average about 16 children per classroom.

Our after-school
program was created 5 years ago to provide mind and body enriching
opportunities for our students by extending the school day. We started out with 24 students and plan to
expand the program so every SAS student has the opportunity to be a part of the
program. In FY17, we plan to increase the program from 48 to 72. In FY18, we
plan to add the remaining students. Expanding the after-school program to every student is wholly connected to our mission and one of the first steps in executing our recently completed strategic vision. Our vision is to strengthen our program by transitioning to an 11-month calendar and access to the after-school program for very student.

Poverty has lasting effects on children and their capacity
to learn. Because of the ever-growing body of research linking good nutrition and
physical activity to positive learning experiences, SAS established a
comprehensive wellness and nutrition initiative that includes a signature
Nutrition Program (NP), a Recess Coach (RC), a School Social Work Counselor
(SSWC), regular physical activity and nutrition classes for parents. Our wellness and nutrition initiative alleviates
hunger and cultivates a commitment to healthy living. It supports learning at
school and develops healthy habits.

The initiative has three components: wellness education and support, nutritious food and physical activity. The wellness education/support and nutritious food components include individual, group work and classroom activities with the SSWC, offering hot breakfast, lunch and snack to students, offering cooking demonstrations during the after-school program, and providing families with healthy eating workshops. The physical activity component was designed with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative in mind. SAS students spend 30 minutes a day on the playground. An RC provides opportunities to play. In addition to improving physical activity and health, research indicates that the presence of an RC improves classroom behavior and the civil settling of petty disputes. We also have a School Social Work Counselor that focuses on deepening learner engagement and developing our school environment to ensure that it is supportive and nurturing.

SAS’s Music Program, including the after-school aspect, is modeled after an international youth development program founded in 1975 that uses music to support each child to feel like an asset within the community. Using the Violin as the primary instrument, the SAS Music Program was introduced in fall 2014. All students (K-5) have weekly group instruction during school hours. In addition the students have in-school performances, solos and community performances. In Kindergarten, the students are taught by ear using the Suzuki method. They meet three days per week for 30-minute sessions. For the first nine weeks, they play in a “paper orchestra” of instruments the students make themselves out of recyclable materials. In First through Fifth Grades, they use the New Directions for Strings curriculum for Elementary Orchestra, which meets the requirements for the National Standards for Music Education. These 30-minute sessions include improvisation, composition and multicultural music. During this time, they learn to play in two-part harmony, learn all chromatic notes and more complex rhythms. Over the next three years SAS’ goal is to implement the program accurately and consider adding additional instruments.

Budget$60,000.00

CEO/ED/Board CommentsComments from Cyndy Weldon-Lassiter, Head of School - In addition to annually raising funds to support St. Andrew's School, there are two other challenges that come to mind in regards running our School. The first is related to our work with families in poverty. For our families, schooling is one part of a bigger picture. Families are often in need of additional services for adults and children. It is our hope to move toward a full service school in order to meet a wide range of needs, such as assistance with transportation, food, shelter, clothing, and adult education, to name a few. We have enhanced the program we offer by including the importance of nutrition, after-school opportunities, and the study of a foreign language. The opportunities related to extending our program offerings is directly tied to developing community relationships, as we join organizations in our quest to improve the education students receive and our potential for providing additional resources outside of school.

Additionally, our School was built in 1894 and stands as a historic landmark. In order to preserve the School, continual improvements are necessary, such as upgrades to electrical systems to accommodate learning in the age of technology.

Given the challenges of meeting the needs of the children and families we serve inside a historical landmark, we are eager to move forward with a full service program that provides and meet the needs of our students and families, as well as faculty and staff.

Comments from Cyndy Weldon-Lassiter, Head of School - Miss Grace Arents founded St. Andrew’s School in 1894. She believed in providing the poor with academic, social, physical, and spiritual opportunities as a means of lifting families out of a life of poverty. St. Andrew’s School was the centerpiece of her charitable activities in Oregon Hill where she also established many of Richmond’s firsts, including: Kindergarten, public library, public housing, and public baths.

When she died in 1926, she left her money to the St. Andrew’s Association which paid for St. Andrew’s School’s entire operating budget until 2000. It is a separate entity that received monies from Grace Arents' estate to fulfill her legacy and is essentially a recipient of a perpetual trust.

Today, approximately 9% of St. Andrew’s School’s operating budget comes from the St. Andrew’s Association. To fully fund our program, this revenue must be supplemented with additional funding from churches, foundations, corporations, and individuals’ contributions.

In 1996, St. Andrew’s School became a 501(c) 3 organization and had their first capital campaign. They started their first annual fund campaign in 2000. Since this time, the annual fund has more than quadrupled.

St. Andrew's School is a full scholarship school. The students must fit a defined financial profile. The parents are asked to pay a $125 enrollment fee each year and are required to volunteer some of their time to the School. Each year the School must raise the funds to support the education of the students.

Development has only been in place at the School for the last fifteen years. In the past three years, the monies raised annually have more than doubled for our annual fund as well as with restricted funds for capital improvements.